How Faith Resurfaced After 40 Years and Other Things That May Be Worth Noting

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In the beginning . . .

In the beginning there was, well, this blog. What follows are my thoughts on a myriad of topics, most notably my return to church and some of the many books I’m reading. In fact, in a way all of my writing is about the many books I’m reading. They all challenge me to question my beliefs and my prejudices. They help me look back over a lifetime and try to see what I’ve learned and what I’ve probably failed to learn. It’s been quite a ride and I know now I wouldn’t have missed it for the world — complete with its tragedy and some pretty outrageous behavior on my part. Don’t worry, the blog’s not rabidly religious and I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind. I am the last person in the world I would trust to judge others. So, why not pull up a chair and “set a spell.” If you find something you like, please share it with friends. If you find something you don’t like, please share it with friends.

A few of my favorite stories to date are Baptists in Captivity (a tongue-in-cheek look at, well, myself), Hidden Things — Kept Secrets (some not-so-funny, though important things about abuse), Women in Ministry (the beginning of the reason I’m able to write again), and For Those Left Behind (on suicide), among others. The table of contents will guide you through the entire list. Your favorites may vary. I’ve tried to talk about a variety of topics, always with some humor along with the more serious stuff. I know I hear better when I’m listening through laughter.

Just above, is the My Reading List button. This will be updated periodically as I add more books to the list of those I’ve read. You may want to click on that button every once in a while to see what’s new there. The newest books will be added to the bottom of the list.

Next to that is the Home button. Clicking that will bring you back to this page from any of the other pages.

Finally, there’s the Table of Contents button. Clicking that will take you to, well, a table of contents listing the titles of each blog in one place. Clicking on the underlined title will take you to that article.

To the right, you’ll find several things. A Guide to the Past allows you to choose a month of blogs you’d like to read. Just below is a Guide to the posts by date published. The underlined dates on the calendar link to the blog published on that date. Just click on that date and you’ll be taken directly to that post. Allowing your mouse cursor to hover over a date will pop up the name of the post for that date. You can also choose the month desired, forward or backward, using the underlined date at the bottom of that calendar. There’s a Subscribe button if you’d like to subscribe to this blog. When you subscribe, a copy of the newest blog installment will be emailed to you when it’s published. You don’t have to subscribe, however, to visit and see what’s new. Finally, below the Subscribe button are links to recent comments.

At the bottom of the page, there are buttons allowing you to share one of the articles using your Twitter or Facebook accounts. Or, you can click “Like” on my Facebook page in order to share a story with your other Facebook friends. Finally, you can “like” a particular article with the WordPress “Like” button. We “like” likes.

I hope you enjoy the blog and find it interesting enough to share with others.

Finally, here’s a quote from theologian Marcus Borg that shows me how I may have never even been an agnostic. It’s work pondering.

Agnosticism is not a halfway house between believing and atheism. It is a state of ‘not knowing.’ I do not know what happens after death — and I am aware that I cannot resolve my uncertainty by deciding to believe something in particular. Believing does not make something true. For example, I could decide to believe that the earth and the universe were created no more than ten thousand years ago. But believing that has nothing to do with whether it’s true. …For these reasons, I am an agnostic about what happens after death. I do not even know what I would prefer — not that my preferences have anything to do with what will be. What I am convinced of is this. When we die, we do not die into nothingness, but we die into God. For me, that is enough.